Take Out
Take Out Starring: Rina and Ava 12/8/11 (Set about a month earlier) Rina leads the way out of the gun shop, her step almost light. It's cold enough to see breath in little clouds, as they head down the block toward the Rat and Raven. "Jesus *fuck*," she mutters. "When did it get to be winter?" Ava walks side by side with the Kinswoman, letting her set the pace. She shrugs her shoulders at the woman's query, giving it momentary thought. "I think... Almost two months ago? At least we haven't seen heavy snow, yet." Wrinkling her nose, Rina tips her head back. "Don't even say it." Ava smirks just a tiny bit. "Not looking forward to a white Christmas? With a tree, and all the trimmings?" "Guess who does the shoveling at our house," Rina murmurs. "You're a strong woman, you can handle it." Ava chuckles. "Or hire someone to do it for you." Rina purses her lips. "Never thoughta that," she answers. "Cause I need the exercise. Keeps the bi's and tri's in better shape." Ava glances at Rina. "I assumed you already worked out every day. I keep some limited equipment at my place, so even at my busiest, I always find time to work up a sweat." The streets are far from empty, but the chill keeps most of the pedestrians moving toward their destinations. The motion of the rest makes the man leaning against the corner of the building stand out a little in his stillness. Taller than average, but not a giant, he's underdressed for the weather, wearing only a hoodie. Most of his face is hidden, but the long hair that strays through the opening is dark. "You lift every *day*?" Rina answers. "Ugh. I'd go fuckin' crazy. I gotta do something different. Box, run, whateva." Ava shakes her head at Rina with a light laugh. "No no, I don't lift. I can't say I ever have! I just ride, and do other forms of cardio. Stretching... Though maybe I could stand to put on some more muscle." Rina lifts a shoulder and lets it fall, scanning the street and the alleyways. "Feels good to have muscle. Especially when..." Trailing off for a moment, she lets her gaze slide away from the suspiciously still figure. "...you're pint-sized like me, yanno?" "When what?" Ava asks, looking away in curiosity when Rina seemingly starts to search for something. When the Kinswoman looks back to her, Ava turns her attention to Rina. "Should I be insulted, or complimented?" She gives Rina a cursory once over. "We are almost the same size, I suppose... " Rina laughs a little. "No way. You're tall and stately, and all that. My pop used to call me 'his little runt.'" Ava seems amused by that, judging by her snort and the curling smirk on her face. She lifts one of her arms and rolls back her jacket's sleeve, showing Rina the slender arm beneath. "I wouldn't be at all surprised if we were about the same, a few inches in height aside." From the darkness of the alley come sounds most would miss, or dismiss as unimportant; a muffled voice, a solid thud, and the scraping of leather over asphalt. The man at the corner lifts his head, turning halfway toward the alley, apparently more interested in listening than looking. When he turns, more of his face becomes visible, and the dark eyes catch on Rina's form for just a moment. Rina's gaze flickers toward the alley at the sound, and then--as if checking in--takes in the observer. She slows her steps just a little more, listening. Ava slows when Rina does, looking to her side. The woman casts a hand through her own hair and looks where Rina does, blinking owlishly. Hard eyes, dark and cold, focus on Rina and then Ava as the pair slow. The man's skin has the look of age to it, weathered and worn, but the sharp nose and cheekbones are the features of a younger man. There's something of a warning in the way he looks at the two, and most women, given that look, would be quick to cross the street, or turn the other way. From the alley, the sound of leather on asphalt continues for a moment more, and then stops, and whatever else happens is too soft to hear from this distance. Rina's eyes narrow, and she murmurs, "I'll take tall dark and handsome, you go in?" Ava glances from the somewhat suspicious man to Rina, then back again. The philodox seems as though she might object to something or another, but she merely murmurs back to Rina. "I'll follow your lead, but I'd like to not dump any bodies tonight." Tipping her head, Rina halts and studies the tall figure. "Well, *that* takes all the fun out of things," she replies. A slow smile dawns, one that doesn't reach her eyes, as she calls out, "Haven't seen *you* around..." Ava meanders over towards the mouth of the alley along with Rina, her posture somewhat relaxed and her steps slow. She keeps one eye directed towards the man and the other towards Rina, putting on her best shy smile. "What are you... " She trails off, then laughs quietly, putting on the facade of someone that may have had a few. Deep in the alley, where there was apparent silence a moment before, something metal clatters against the pavement. When Rina speaks to him, the man sharpens his focus on her and takes a step toward her, away from his post. He gives a simple jerk of his chin, perhaps intended as a greeting, though his manner remains as cold as his eyes. His arms cross over his chest, and his stance is very much like that of the bouncers at The Temple. Rina tips her head, one corner of her mouth curling upward. "Oh, it's like that, huh?" She bites her lip. "You a mute, or something?" Ava stumbles off to the opposite side and comes to a halting stop, putting a hand onto her temple, mostly obscuring her eyes. She holds the pose and rubs at her head with a low groan, then tries to sneak a glance down the mouth of the alley. "You lookin' f'trouble?" the man rumbles at Rina. But even as he takes another step in her direction, his gaze shifts toward Ava. It's hard to see much in the dim alleyway, but the philodox can make out three silhouettes - one hunched over another on the ground while a third seems to be attempting to open a door. "Usually," Rina answers, giving ground and pulling away toward the street a bit. Ava spares a discrete glance towards Rina when she sees the Kinswoman moving away, her hair hanging across her eyes. When Ava doesn't move any further, the man gives his full attention to Rina again, unconsciously following her as she pulls back. One corner of his lip twitches upward, but the smile is harsh, feral, and not at all friendly. "Yeah?" Rina echoes that smile. "Yeah," she answers. Ava reaches out to steady herself on the nearest bit of wall, leaning forward just a teensy bit with no sudden movements. With one hand still on her head, she shifts to stand against the wall with her head bowed, peering out from her fingers. The man takes another step toward Rina, and away from his post, his long legs helping to close the distance. "Bit busy, right now," he says, glancing toward Ava and the alley. "But you come back later, I'll give you all the trouble you can handle." Down in the alley, one of the figures struggles with the door. Either he doesn't have a key, or the key doesn't seem to be working. The figure on the ground moans and starts to move, but the third swings a nasty kick at him, and he falls silent. Ava stays right where she is, through she does turn her head just enough to get a slightly better look at Rina and the man beside her. "Sorry to interrupt, then." Without warning, Rina pulls the .45 and levels it at him. Whatever he was expecting, it seems not to have been that, and for the first time something other than ice and anger show in the man's features. Surprise is there in the momentary lifting of his brows, but not fear, and after only a second, the shock is well hidden, too. He steps forward again, faster, more certain. "The fuck, bitch?" The figure at the door mutters something under his breath, and puts his shoulder to the door. As Ava turns her attention more toward Rina, the breaking of the door is heard rather than seen. Rina takes a swift step back. "Sorry to interrupt. Call off your goons in there and tell me what's goin' on, sweetheart. Or I take out a knee." Ava 's posture suddenly straightens out when the man turns towards Rina. She digs something out of her pocket with one hand and steps forward, attempting to swing an arm beneath the man's arm. She tries to get a hand onto his mouth to cover it whilst shoving something into his back. "I don't think it's any of your fuckin' bu--" The man's words are cut off abruptly as his muscles spasm and he crumples to the ground. Rina raises both eyebrows, stepping forward fast to pistol-whip the back of his head. "Conscious or not?" she asks Ava. Ava leans in against the man to take a look at his face, then she pulls the device away and shakes her head at Rina. "Don't think so." She eases the man down to the ground, trying not to make a sound, then sheathes her stun gun. Looking slightly disappointed, Rina looks toward the alley. "Let's go." She gets to her feet and jogs that way. Ava reaches beneath her jacket for her gun, checking it only briefly to make sure it's functional. She follows after Rina immediately after, staying close to the Kinswoman without crowding her. There's no sound from the man as Ava takes hold of him, his body a dead weight in her arms, though the twitching of his hands suggests that he won't be out for long. There's something about his skin, when she gets a look, something not quite right. Like it had been stretched too tight and then released. The alley is empty by the time the pair enters, but a faint light spills onto the pavement from the doorway. Rina moves fast, ducking in through the doorway with the .45 still out. Ava pauses at the doorway only briefly, taking a look at the person on the alley floor. She then follows Rina in with her gun half-raised, covering whatever direction Rina doesn't. The door is clearly broken in, though neither takes the time to really survey the damage. The light comes from a single, bare bulb in the stairwell beyond the door, a simple space of concrete painted eggshell white. An exit sign hangs above, and other than the stairs leading both up and down, only one other door opens onto the space. Heading for the downward stairs, Rina gestures Ava to the ones going up. "Yell if you need to," she whispers, half-running. Ava doesn't seem terribly pleased with this plan, but she simply turns and begins her slow ascent up the steps. Rina is halfway down the first flight, and Ava has only gone a few steps, when both are able to hear the not-so-subtle closing of a door from below. "Down here!" Rina calls out, and sprints toward the door. Ava turns around when she hears the door, and quickly makes her way down the steps after the woman. The door is a typical industrial fire door, more easily opened from the other side. However it isn't locked, and a little bit of muscle is all that's needed to maneuver the latch and pull it open. From this side, there is no way to tell what is on the other. Rina waits for perhaps one flight of stairs, or one and a half if Ava's fast, before attempting to yank the door open. Ava continues down the stairs as quickly as she's able to without being too loud. She listens as closely as she can to glean what she can. The door comes open, though not with the suddenness necessary to take someone by surprise, the weight of it is too much for such quick movement. The other side is dim, a basement area used for storage, and partitioned with cheap paneling. No one is immediately visible, but as soon as the door is open, voices can be heard speaking in hushed and hurried tones. "-- Hell makes you think that?" says the first. A deeper voice replies, less anxious than the first. "I know what the fuck I'm doing. I had to wake Eliza once." "You're outta your mind," says the first, and then stops and drops to a whisper. "Shhh. You hear that?" Rina stays out of sight, eyes narrowing--and she doesn't move. Ava moves down the stairs and tries to rejoin Rina, stepping over to stand at her side as soon as she sights the woman. "Hear what?" the second voice asks, sounding just a tad frustrated, or annoyed. "Just shut up," whispers the first, and there's the sound of footsteps behind one of the partitions about twenty feet down on the left. Ava eyes the corner that the man will have to turn, waiting to see just how far the man goes. "Forget it," mutters the gruffer voice. "Just get over here and help me." The footsteps pause, and then begin again, apparently heading back the way they'd come. "This guy is fuckin' heavy," continues the second man, and then he grunts. "Get his feet." Rina tips her head toward the door, giving Ava a questioning look. "That, or make a distraction upstairs," she mouths, adding gestures. Ava shakes her head, then tips her noggin in the direction of the door. She starts to move towards it as stealthily as she's able, stepping lightly, following the partition. The first area they pass on the left is open, filled with boxes upon boxes, without any apparent effort at organization or structure. Across from it is a space closed off with simple chain link and a cheap padlock. Tools seem to be at least vaguely cared for, and the workbench in the middle of the space is clean. The next spaces, both right and left, are built up for more privacy, though no more security. The partitions reach about eight feet, leaving more than a foot of clearance above, and an inch or so below. The doors are no more than gates covered over for privacy, though the curious would have no difficulty peeking through the openings. On the left the gate has been left open, and it is clearly from this space that the voices are heard. "I'm tellin' ya, we gotta fuckin' secure them better than this," the second voice mutters, as a heavy weight thuds onto some solid surface. "This ain't gonna hold shit, and you don't wanna be here when Marcus wakes up, if they ain't contained." "What the fuck do y'want me to do about it? You're the one that picked this place. An' where's Jerry, anyway? He should be down here, by now." Rina looks over to Ava. "Is he gonna stay out?" she mouths, miming 'guy upstairs' and 'sleeping.' Ava lifts up her free hand and makes a pinching motion. "Fuck if I know. You wanna get him? I'll see if I can find somethin' solid." There's a grating noise, a table or chair, something heavy, scraping across the basement floor, and then the first voice answers. "Yeah, yeah. Don't do nothin' stupid before we get back." Rina raises both eyebrows, and takes up a position not far from the gate--conveniently locating herself to be behind the swing of the door again. Ava elects to follow Rina back a bit, taking cover amongst the many boxes that litter the room. She remains as still as possible, trying to keep herself in a position where she and the Kin can maintain some degree of line of sight on one another. As Ava slips behind cover, she loses the ability to keep Rina in sight, as the kin positions herself behind the open gate. The footsteps are heard again, and then a man steps out from the partitioned off storage area. The duster makes him look taller than his five foot eight, and it suits his narrow frame well enough that it was probably tailored. His pace is steady, but not sweeping, and there's caution in his posture and movement as he heads toward the stairwell door. The man still inside grunts again, and again there is the sound of something heavy scraping against the floor. Rina steps behind him, quickly, to press the .45 to the back of his head. "Shhh," she breathes. Ava listens carefully to the noises in the room, and when Rina makes her move the philodox steps out from behind her cover. She keeps her gun at her side and looks to Rina, waiting to see what she intends, and whether or not the man struggles. The man with the gun to his head freezes, but from Ava's perspective, she can see the anger that flares along with the momentary flash of fear. His nostrils flare, and his lips form a tight line. Rina reaches out and takes one wrist, putting it behind his back. "Other hand," she breathes, glancing briefly to Ava and giving her a little nod. Ava merely watches with all the expression of a passive house cat staring at the wall, waiting patiently for the man to comply- Or not. Despite the woman's flat expression her posture is rigid, and the majority of her attention is squarely focused upon Rina and the man. There's tension in that hand and arm when Rina grasps the wrist, and though the doesn't resist, he isn't completely compliant, either. When she calls for his other hand, his gaze focuses hard on Ava, and there's the briefest flash of a smile before he speaks. "You ain't cops, are you?" he asks, his voice not at all hushed or quiet. "We're turnin' around," Rina says, twisting his arm up behind his back to get him to comply. "Gonna get an introduction to your friend." Ava raises an eyebrow and casts a glance down across her clothing. "No, detectives." She responds at the same volume Rina speaks, without elaborating in any way. She lifts her gun to ready it, keeping it close, the barrel pointed near the man's feet. Even as Rina speaks, the sounds from inside the storage space suggest that the man's friend is aware of their presence, and moving. The first man grunts, as Rina twists his arm up behind his back, and there is the first sign of real resistance. The strength there, even in that contorted position, is far more than there should be, and it takes significant effort on Rina's part to retain control. The man's eyes remain on Ava's as Rina starts to turn them, and that flash of a smile returns, growing stronger and more feral. Rina's jaw tightens with the strain, and she gives him a warning nudge with the gun. "No matter what you are, y'not gonna survive with your brains splattered on the wall, pal," she mutters. "Forward march." Ava takes a few half-steps to the side, not quite approaching Rina and the duo, but purposefully stepping into a position where she can shoot the man if necessary without using Rina as her backstop. She keeps her steps light as to not offer and audible clues to anyone else as to where she is, resting her finger on the trigger. The smile fades, anger flaring again, in response to Rina's words, but even while the man's wrist twists in the woman's grasp, he turns and steps forward as directed. "Your party," he mutters. There's no sign of the other man, and whatever movement there was, has ceased. Behind them, there's a metallic creak from the door to the stairwell. Rina says "Son of a b--" Rina's whisper is tight. "Ava, *go*," she says softly. "I'll be behind you." Ava turns her hand before she turns herself, twisting in place to aim at the door. She walks quickly towards the door, but doesn't go through it, positioning herself near the threshold with her back against the wall. The man in Rina's control turns as she does, and once again he twists his hand in her grip. "This ain't gonna end well," he says, though softly, this time. Three steps, four, no more than that before the door opens. Just like when Rina opened it, earlier, it doesn't so much yank open as tug, and Rina's friend from outside is there. He doesn't look happy, nor does he look healthy. He seems to be leaning a little against the frame as he holds the door open with one outstretched arm. "Shit," Rina whispers, backing off at a right angle and taking her hostage with her. "You wanna live, you better start talkin'." Ava creeps a tad closer to the door where the man stands, but she doesn't make her move- Not yet. She waits, ready to spring upon him or take other action should he make the wrong move. "Say what?" asks Rina's hostage. "That you're gonna die? That you walked into a bigger mess than you know?" "Hey, Trouble!" calls the man at the door, gaze flicking between Ava and Rina as he steps across the threshold and lets the door close behind him. Something or someone moans, back inside the storage space. Rina's jaw tightens, and she pulls the trigger, firing a phosphorous round--woeful waste of ammo!--at point-blank range into the back of her hostage's skull. Ava flinches when she hears the gunshot ringing in her ears, the enclosed space trapping the loud sound all too well. She doesn't seem overly pleased by the turn of events, but what's done is done. When the man enters the room, Ava fires a shot from the side, aiming for his head. Heat and light and the wet splatter of blood and brain all assault the kin, but the man in her grip falls without another sound. Ava's shot comes half a second later, but the man she fires on is already moving, and her shot goes wide, striking the wall behind him, rather than the man himself. The man with the odd skin doesn't speak, again, and any hint of humor is gone from his expression as he dodges to the side and closes the distance between himself and the garou. Rina leaves him to Ava and fires another shot at range, into her first victim--just in case, and this time the phosphorous is likely to come into play a bit more. Then she's darting toward the back, taking a moment behind the concealment of the partition before swinging around to confront the third man inside. Ava surges forward towards the man when he comes towards her, folding her off hand back as she extends it towards him as though she were intending a palm strike at his face. At the same time, she lowers her gun and takes a quick shot at the center of his body. Light flares again as Rina's second round hits the fallen man, but when she swings around the corner of the partition, a sharp pain lances through her forearms - a pipe coming down with full force, cracking the radius of her left arm and knocking the gun from her grasp. Ava's second shot rips through the man's side, but it doesn't seem to slow him, and he barrels into the philodox, driving them both to the ground. Rina screams, losing precious fractions of a second to the crippling pain. Ava goes tumbling to the ground, her slight build lacking the physical prowess necessary to dodge or keep her on her feet. The philodox glances back when she hears the sound of the Kinswoman screaming, and she does the only thing left to do in such circumstances. She looks back to the man on top of her and begins to shift just as fast as she's able. The third man, still out of sight of the crinos, raises his weapon to strike again at the kin. For a wonder, his blow just misses, as she ducks back out into the main area of the basement, kicking the gun ahead of her. Trouble throws a punch, but it lands not on a woman, but a crinos. His eyes go wide, but he doesn't have time to give more of a reaction than that before he's thrown halfway across the room. His grey hoodie is torn and bloody, and he shows no sign of immediately rising. Quid-Pro-Quo drops her gun on the floor, her fingers too long and too bulky to really use the pistol anyways. She rises to her feet with a casual flick of her claws, as though she were a person casting water from their fingertips. She doesn't waste any time with annoying things like doors, she marches straight up to the partition and goes right through it, using her claws as necessary. Rina darts immediately for the gun, her good arm outstretched--and hopefully she's faster than the man behind her. Rina's attacker follows; right on her heels as she snatches up her gun, but the sight of the crinos gives him pause. For a beat, he's frozen, and then he turns, fleeing toward the distant end of the basement. Ava tears right through the flimsy partitions, and only her crinos reflexes keep her from tripping on the heavy trunk in the corner. As she pulls the debris from her face, she sees the two, heavy, metal workbenches in the far corner, and on each one a prone, unconscious man. Rina turns and fires on the fleeing one, but her one-handed -- and left-handed -- grip means that the shots come slow, as she has to correct for recoil. Quid-Pro-Quo 's gaze lingers on the men laid upon the tables, but only briefly. She's soon heading towards the sounds of Rina and the ongoing conflict, her ears splaying out and pulling back behind her head. "Take him!" Rina cries out between shots. Rina's shot misses only by inches, and the fleeing man dodges side to side, making any further shots that much more difficult as he approaches a corner that will take him out of sight. Quid-Pro-Quo pauses when she hears Rina speak, her ears jerking right back up again. She turns her head towards the fleeing man and blinks, hunching herself forward with her palms on the floor. She digs her back claws in good and tight to give herself the leverage she needs to spring forward towards the man, reaching out with both her hands outstretched. It takes more than a single spring, but the rage that fuels the philodox allows her to catch the fleeing man before he can exit the basement entirely. Out of sight of Rina and the rest of the carnage, Ava's claws catch the man's back and tear through the leather of his jacket. To the experienced garou, however, something doesn't feel as it should. The flesh beneath the leather doesn't tear as easily as she would expect, and while there is some blood, there is nowhere near what there should be. The man cries out, but rather than continue to try to run, he starts to turn. Breathing ragged with pain and adrenaline, Rina heads back toward the door and those two metal slabs--slowing, when she gets there, tensing. She makes her way toward one of them slowly. Closer, and her nostrils flare as she reaches out a trembling hand to touch the corpse. Quid-Pro-Quo does her best to close her massive paws around the man as he begins to turn upon her, and does the first logical thing that pops into her mind. The garou turns her head sideways and pops her jaws open, aiming to bring them to bear upon his head or neck. The pipe strikes the crinos across the ribs, shattering several with a strength the man shouldn't possess, but despite the pain, it doesn't slow the Glass Walker much and her teeth tear into the man's shoulder. He still doesn't topple, however, and draws back for another swing. For Rina: The one on the right is cold and dead and oh, so familiar, so tempting. The one on the left is breathing, if shallowly, and the bruises already show on his face and what can be seen of his arms. '' Quid-Pro-Quo growls as she feels the pain pouring into her body, but it isn't enough to shake her. She has a good grip with her hands and now that her teeth are sinking in, she uses them to her fullest advantage. She clenches her jaw as strongly as she can and starts to pull up and around, jerking her head from side to side. Rina reaches behind her back for the knife. The blade is shivering as she draws it out; she is shaking, more and more violently, as she takes the dead man's arm and makes the cut. After that, the struggle is gone. Over, as the beast takes hold. The man lacks the leverage to do as much damage as he otherwise might, but the strength is there, and the pipe strikes across the broken ribs, driving shards of bone into the organs beneath. The damage he could do with another weapon, with full range of movement, would be devastating. Ava's teeth are sharp, and her jaws have all the strength they need. Before the man can draw back to strike again, she breaks through the clavical and tears out half of his neck along with the shoulder. Just as the man's strength and fortitude were unusual, so too is the taste of his blood as he falls. For Rina: It's different from Darius, different from Halix, but the power of the blood is still there. There isn't nearly enough, though, and it's a struggle to take even what she can.'' Quid-Pro-Quo doesn't immediately let go of the prey in her grasp, not even after she hears the pop of bones breaking under the stress of her massive jaws. She wrings him from side to side a bit more just to make sure he's not playing opossum on her, then lets him drop to the floor. She reflexively licks at her chops, reflecting only briefly upon the taste before turning, looking in the darkness for Rina. '' Rina . o O (I will not revive the vampire to keep him as a food source.) '' Rina shudders, her head bowed. She kneels by one of those metal platforms, gripping the vampire's forearm, the knife discarded beside her. Quid-Pro-Quo drifts over to stand near Rina, then gradually recedes into the form of a young woman with an immaculate suit. She regards what she's seeing with some semblance of curiosity, her head tilted to one side. "I... Don't think we should linger." Rina shudders. "I didn't know this one," she whispers. "Oh, Gaia." Her breathing is a little sped, and she lifts her right arm, flexes her hand into a fist several times, and then takes up the knife to wipe it clean on her pants. "I need to get to Kavi," she says hoarsely. Ava kneels down a bit beside her, and reaches out to gingerly take one of her forearms into her hands. "Come with me." She murmurs, trying to help Rina up to her feet. "I'll arrange for the clean up after we get to the truck." Rina's wild-eyed with the high, but lets herself be towed along once she sheaths the knife. "Get me to Kavi," she says unsteadily. "At the tenement. Fuck. Fuck." Ava draws Rina in against her side to keep her steady, then begins to lead her towards the door. "Come on." She murmurs, coaxing her towards the exit. She pauses only briefly to pick up her gun and stow it beneath her grey jacket. Rina's along for the ride--though she seems to be running a bit faster than the ride, buoyed by the influence of the drug she's taken in. Category:Story_Logs